Identifier: recollectionsimp00edd (find matches)
Title: Recollections and impressions of James A. McNeill Whistler
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Eddy, Arthur Jerome, 1859-1920
Subjects: Whistler, James McNeill, 1834-1903
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott Co.
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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seen in the world of art. It was theNocturne, Black and Gold. The Falling Rocket,a faithful transcript of the painters impression of anight-scene in Cremorne Gardens. But Ruskin caredless for the subtle glories of night than for the moregarish beauties of the day, and still less for the sightsand sounds of Cremorne Gardens, and neither he norany one else in either modern or ancient world knewanything at all about the painting of night as Whist-ler painted it. It is not surprising, therefore, that hewas startled, for the picture seemed to violate allthose canons of art which he had laid down in Eng-lish the beauty of which more than condones hisevery error, and on the impulse of the moment hewrote in a number of Fors Clavigera : For Mr. Whistlers own sake, no less than forthe protection of the purchaser, Sir Coutts Lindsayought not to have admitted works into the gallery inwhich the ill-educated conceit of the artist so nearly 140 NOCTURNE, BLACK AND GOLD. THE FALLING ROCKET AND IMPRE*
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OF JAMES A. McNEILL whistler approached the aspect of wilful imposture. I haveseen and heard much of cockney impudence beforenow, but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask twohundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in thepublics face. By way of extenuation, it must be borne in mindthat this was written off-hand, at a time when Ruskinwas saying so many extravagant things, though withthem so many profoundly true things, that no onequite understood him, and many thought him notquite sound mentally. The habit of sweeping gen-eralizations, of extravagant appreciations and de-preciations had grown apace since the publicationof the first volume of Modern Painters, nearlyforty years before, and he invariably yielded to theimpression or the prejudice of the moment. If Ruskin, in estimating Whistler, had paused buta moment and recalled just a paragraph from thepreface to the second edition of the first volume of Modern Painters he would have been more toler-ant, for he there said : All that

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